United World Wrestling lifts suspension of Wrestling Federation of India

United World Wrestling, the world body that administers wrestling, lifted the provisional suspension of the Wrestling Federation of India on Tuesday.

The world body has lifted the suspension on two conditions after reviewing it in the UWW bureau meeting on 9th February 2024.

Earlier in August 2023, UWW suspended the Wrestling Federation of India for not holding the elections in the stipulated time and for misgovernance.

The two conditions kept by UWW are elections of the Athletes Commission and non-discrimination in the participation in WFI events, specifically selection trials for the Olympics.

"The WFI has to re-convene the elections of its Athletes’ Commission. The candidates for this commission shall be active athletes or retired for no longer than four years. The voters shall be exclusively athletes. These elections shall take place during trials or any senior national championships where this operation can take place, but no later than July 1, 2024," UWW stated in a press release.

The other condition is to make sure of a fair chance for every wrestler in the country, especially the wrestlers who protested against former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

"The WFI has to immediately provide UWW with written guarantees that all wrestlers will be considered for participation without any discrimination in all WFI events, in particular trials for the Olympic Games and any other major national and international events. This non-discrimination includes the three athletes who protested against alleged wrongdoings by the former President," the press release said.

The press release also mentioned that UWW is in touch with the wrestlers and will follow up with them in the coming days. This move will enable the Indian wrestlers to play under their national flags in the UWW-sanctioned events.

While UWW has lifted the suspension, the newly-elected body of WFI led by Sanjay Singh remains suspended by the Sports Ministry for violating the sports code after elections.